Risk factors of hand, food and mouth disease among children in Hangzhou city

Objective To assess the risk factors of hand, foot and mouth disease among children in Hangzhou city. Methods Children clinically diagnosed as hand, foot and mouth disease from 4 hospitals in Hangzhou were sampled for the assessment. The patient group consisted of 130 laboratory confirmed cases, while the control group comprised those with non-infectious diseases in the same hospitals during the same period. Using unified questionnaire surveys, the relevant information were collected and analyzed by unconditional univariate and multivariate logistic regression in SPSS 13.0. Results Univariate analysis showed 5 statistically significant factors, including floating population, control of urine and fecal discharges, wash hands after defecation, nurses have received prevention and control education and history of contact with patients. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that the contributing factors were floating population (OR＝2.266, 95%CI:1.092-4.705), sharing toys with other children (OR＝2.517, 95%CI:1.160-4.009) and contact with patients (OR＝21.698, 95%CI:6.099-77.194); while control of urine and fecal discharges (OR＝0.258, 95%CI:0.141-0.472) served as a protective factor. Conclusion Hand, foot and mouth disease is mainly transmitted through casual contact. Good hygiene habits are essential to control of the spread of this disease.